Death and All His Friends
by BlueStinger
Summary: Albus knew he was different. He wasn't athletic, or smart, or liked. He was... something else. Angry. Short-tempered. Shy. The boy who lived in shadow wanted something else. Something... more. So what happens when the world crashes into ashes, the blame falling on the one that could do good...
1. Prologue

I own nothing.

(A/N: This is it. A new story. A new beginning. Have fun.)

(P.S.: Anything in italics is from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. All rights to that excerpt belong to J.K. Rowling.)

Albus Severus Potter.

The name grew to be something more. The young boy with messy hair was shy and inward, never being one to speak out or yell. His brother, James, was the suave one, the charmer, the sports star. Making the ladies swoon at the age of eleven, as he teased his younger sibling to no end. The first Potter Slytherin. A disgrace to the family. At least, until Ginny yelled not to upset him.

Lily was the opposite. Sharing many traits with Albus, she was shy and quiet, speaking politely and in short sentences. She read books that challenged even her father, the great Boy Who Lived. She was the smart one, the gifted witch, the natural. She showed signs of magic at the low age of three, enchanting James' learner broom to make him fall on his face.

Albus, however... was the nutcase. The oddity. The one who had a short temper, but never seemed to exhibit any signs of magical power. 'The Squib', as James called him. The outcast. The weird one. Endless other adjectives clogged the young boy's mind, much darker thoughts than that of a typical ten year old. The boy worried about his Hogwarts letter, not knowing what would happen. He couldn't be the Squib, the outcast, no; he would prove to the world that he was... more. More than a label.

Curious citizens ogled at his father when he walked past, holding themselves highly to be in the presence of their savior. They heard stories of his talented son, and his wickedly smart daughter, told tales of his legendary wife, former Chaser for the Holyhead Harpies. And, in a moment of confusion, wondered who was the dark haired boy who walked beside them, who looked questionably like Harry himself.

While his two siblings inherited the trademark brown Weasley eyes, Albus' were emerald green, like his father. His hair hung limp and messy, like his father's. But, unlike his father, nothing about him was special. Some might even call him sickly, with his thin appearance and slender figure. "How can he be underfed," a passing shopper joked, "when his father is head of Auror office?" His mother proceeded to stare at him sharply, shutting up the poor man immediately.

Inwardly, however, people wondered the same thing. His aunt was Minister for Magic, his uncle was a celebrated Auror, his namesake was arguably the greatest wizard to be born on this Earth. And yet, there was the question of his second name.

Severus.

That of a deserter, a spy, a fickle minded fool, a half-blood prince, a gaunt and oily shadow of the powerful Dumbledore. The servant of the Dark Lord, the shunner of hope, the coward, the terrible headmaster. But still, his name was there, engraved into the Potter family forever. A memory of a dark past, one the world had left behind eighteen years ago. And, in the eyes of a man who had seen many evil and cheated death, a great hero and wizard. Unlike Albus Potter.

Until June the Nineteenth of 2016, this all changed.

The boy's tenth birthday was a quiet affair, involving his immediate family, his aunt, uncle, and his cousins, Rose and Hugo, who had both shown magic capabilities. The cake, in the shape of a large ten, sparkled with multi-colored candles. His family softly sang 'Happy Birthday' as the less than happy boy cut his cake. James, smirking, chanted silently, and moved his hands, as if conducting an orchestra. Lily stood behind him silently. Hugo and Rose clapped along next to her. The adults, being much more jovial and animated, sang the loudest, as if to compensate for the others. The boy carefully cut a triangular slice, placing it onto a paper plate, and taking a small bite, savoring his mother's unparalleled cooking.

James took this silent moment to smash the cake into Albus' face. Him and the other children laughed at the icing dripping down his face, forming red patches on his cheeks. The cake plopped to the floor sadly. Lily stared at James horrified, as Albus seethed on the inside.

He was done with the teasing. Done with the ridicule. Done with being the odd one out. The parents, looking concerned led their children away carefully, omit Albus, who stood in the center of the room, fists clenched. He stepped on the cake angrily, and screamed. The laughter immediately stopped, turning to shrieks and gasps as the house shook.

A bright, blinding flash soon followed, as if the world were on fire. Soon after, all of the lights in the Potter household were extinguished. Lily screamed shrilly, causing the others to panic. Aunt Hermione whispered, "Lumos Maxima!", and light was restored to the room. Ron, wanting to one up her, retrieved a curious object from his pocket. As he clicked it, orbs of light flew from its inside, delving into lamps and lights. Hermione ceased the light, with the 'power' being restored. The children immediately stopped screaming, sending the house into silence. Ginny looked at her son in disbelief, staring at his now-clean face. The cake lay underneath his foot, pitifully crushed.

Harry was the only one who looked happy. Ecstatic, in fact. He beamed widely, and walked over to Albus, kneeling down to the boy, who's expression had softened. "My son," he whispered joyously. "You're a wizard."

 **One Year Later**

 _"I won't! I won't be in Slytherin!"_

 _"James, give it a rest!" said Ginny._

 _"I only said he might be..."_

 _"What if I'm in Slytherin?"_

 _The whisper was for his father alone, and Harry knew that only the moment of departure could have forced Albus to reveal how great and sincere that fear was._

 _Harry crouched down so that Albus's face was slightly above his own. Alone of Harry's three children, Albus had inherited Lily's eyes. "Albus Severus," Harry said quietly, so that nobody but Ginny could hear, and she was tactful enough to pretend to be waving to Rose, who was now on the train, "you were named for two headmasters of Hogwarts. One of them was a Slytherin and he was probably the bravest man I ever knew."_

 _"But just say —"_

 _"—then Slytherin House will have gained an excellent student, won't it? It doesn't matter to us, Al. But if it matters to you, you'll be able to choose Gryffindor over Slytherin. The Sorting Hat takes your choice into account."_

 _"Really?"_

 _"It did for me," said Harry._

The boy with blond hair smiled brightly. "Hey," he said

"Hi," Albus replied "Mind if I sit? All the other compartments are full."

"Sure," said the boy.

Albus sat, staring out the window at the ever shrinking Kings Cross station. "What's your name?" He asked.

The boy straightened his posture. "Scorpius Malfoy. You?"

He hesitated for a moment, vaguely recognizing the name, but shrugged off the feeling.

"Albus Severus Potter."


	2. Chapter 1: A Sorting to Remember

Chapter 1: A Sorting to Remember

Scorpius looked at the boy questioningly. "Potter? As in, Harry Potter?"

The other boy smiled sheepishly. "Yeah."

Now that he had mentioned it, Scorpius noticed how similar he looked to his father; same skinny figure, messy black hair, and emerald eyes. Albus', however, were not obscured by glasses.

As the train's whistle sounded, it began to move slowly. Albus opened the window, looking at his family who stood on the platform. Leaning out, he yelled goodbye, and quickly fell back in, slamming the window down.

Kings Cross moved away, until it was but a cream colored dot. The Hogwarts Express entered the countryside, with rolling hills filling the landscape.

The boys' compartment door slid open, revealing a pretty redheaded girl, already dressed in her Hogwarts robes.. She completely ignored Scorpius and moved over to Albus, sitting next to him. "Hey Al. All of the other compartments are full, and I'm not willing to sit with James and his idiot friends." She glanced at Scorpius. "And you're a Malfoy, I expect?"

"And you're a Weasley." He said it as a statement, not a question. The red hair and brown eyes was a dead giveaway.

She drew together her robes and lifted her head. "I'll have you know, my mother is the Minister for Magic."

"And what?"

"Not like it matters to you, Scorpius."

He was about to bite back,but stopped. "Wait, how do you know my name?"

Her ears turned red enough to rival her hair. "Heard it... somewhere."

An awkward moment of silence followed, and Albus' eyes darted back and forth between the two. "Why don't you just make out already?"

Scorpius pretended to retch, as Rose gasped scandalously.

Albus smiled, pleased, and leaned back in his seat.

Scorpius, not wanting to make things more awkward, tried to start a conversation. "So, I expect you two will be Gryffindor? Lions, and all that?"

The dark haired boy's smile immediately turned into a frown. Rose shifted away from him uncomfortably.

"What's wrong with him?"

Rose spoke softly. "His brother keeps teasing that he'll be in Slytherin. He just doesn't want to break tradition, I guess."

"And what's so wrong with Slytherin or breaking tradition? I'll have you know, Merlin-"

"Yes, yes, he was Slytherin," continued Rose. "But what would _your_ family say about breaking tradition?"

Scorpius scowled. "I wouldn't know. My mother's dead."

Yet another bout of silence was brought on, and Rose, sensing it was time to go, stood up and exited, sliding past the cart that came down the aisle.

"Anything from the trolley, dears?" the lady asked.

Albus mumbling, took out a ripped sheet of parchment and pouch of Galleons from his trunk. He handed it to Scorpius, and gestured towards him. "Go on, read it." He returned sulking at the window.

He shook his head, and took to reading the list. "We'll have two pouches of Every Flavored Beans, ten Chocolate Frogs, eight Cockroach Clusters, four Sugar Quills, and six Cauldron Cakes." Scorpius widened his eyes at the amount of food written down.

The kindly woman dumped the candy onto the empty space next to Albus, and Scorpius handed her the pouch of Galleons, which she accepted gratefully.

Albus, in the meantime, dug into a tin of Chocolate Frogs, devouring the sweet substance.

"Do they even feed you at home?"

Albus swallowed. "Believe me, you're not the first to ask. And no. Mum's banned all candy in the house since Lily set the shed on fire."

Scorpius nodded, and hesitated to ask a question that his been plaguing him. "What's it like to... you know, have a mother?"

Albus smiled sympathetically. "It's good and bad. Obviously, you have someone to care for you, and yell at your brother when he's being a git. You usually have the best cook ever, but my dad actually cooks more than Mum. But then, of course, it's a lot stricter, you have some awkward conversations, and..." He took a bite out of the frog that he had half eaten. "No candy."

Scorpius laughed. "Must be nice. My mum... passed away when I was six. She was quite frail. I definitely miss her... but I've seen my dad when he thinks about her. He goes all sad, and tries to distance himself..." He took a deep breath. "Honestly... rather than feeling sad for what I had, I feel sad for what I didn't. I never had someone other than Dad to care for me. Mum was always in bed, or doing chores. I just wish I could have that with her..."

Albus stared at him, as if wanting to say something, but opted not to. Instead, he reached into his trunk again, and pulled out a curious device. It seemed like a small rectangle with curves instead of edges. It had a hole in the bottom and three buttons on the side. He then extracted a white colored string. It split into two at the middle, and each piece had an unusual attachment on the end. He inserted the other, uniform end of the string into the hole in the device, which lit up on one side, showing a music symbol and some words. Albus put the attachments into his ears, and started bobbing his head slightly.

"What's that?"

Albus pressed one of the buttons on the side, and looked up. "Come again?"

Scorpius punted to the device.

Albus smiled. "It's this thing that Muggles use. You plug it into this thing, and tap this triangle on the screen, and music starts playing through these separated ends." He took one out of his ear and handed it to Scorpius. "My dad gave it to me, from my uncle on his side."

Under the encouragement of Albus, Scorpius put the object in his ear. Albus hit the button again, and music streamed into his ears. He pulled the object out and stared at him. "How does it work?"

Albus shrugged. "Who cares?"

"Either way, Muggle technology doesn't work in Hogwarts."

"We'll see."

The castle loomed in the distance, as the first years approached in boats. Soon to be pupils oohed and aahed at the massive structure. The two kids that Scorpius sat with, however, wouldn't shut up. The boys were twin named Denny and Remy, and were very talkative, telling tall tales of their seemingly endless amount of brothers. They wore identical clothes just to confuse adults. And, most curiously, the freely used each other's names as their own. Not that anyone could tell, anyways.

"And then," one of them said, "he took the Chimera, wrapped his arms around his neck..."

"... and threw it into the pen!" the other finished. "A Chimera! How cool is that!"

Scorpius nodded absentmindedly, and focused on Hagrid in the distance. Just then, a particularly nasty wave rocked the boat, and the twins shrieked as water filled their shoes.

Laughter came from Rose in the boat behind them, and the twins smiled. "Just wait," they said simultaneously. Soon enough, the wave that had nearly capsized them, now gaining height, slammed into the following vessel.

The three other girls sitting with her managed to hang on, but Rose, taken unawares, was thrown over. The twins and Albus roared in response, clutching their stomachs as the girls frantically tried to pull back Rose, who was treading water panicked.

A seemingly invisible force lifted her into the air, making her scream as she was deposited into the boat, her robes drenched. She stared at the other girls, wide eyed. "It was so slimy," she whispered in shock.

"What?" asked one of them.

Rose pointed towards the black lake, where a single tentacle rose and swayed, as if in greeting.

The girls shrieked again, and all crowded to one side of the boat.

Albus was practically rolling on the floor, having a fit, as the twins wiped tears from their eyes. Even Scorpius laugher.

Rose, noticing their hysterics, smiled evilly and drew her wand. She whispered something inaudible, and suddenly, the boys were pitched face first into the water.

The students, some of them shivering and went, crowded at the side of the hall, as "Auckbert, Holden" walked toward the stool nervously. The battered hat perched on it grumbled, as if to say "hurry up".

The boy picked up the hat carefully, sat down, and placed the hat on his head, as all of Hogwarts watched. "Hmm... interesting... must be RAVENCLAW!"

The third table erupted into cheers, as the others clapped politely. Scorpius spotted some money exchanging hands, as if the older students were betting on which house would get the first student.

As "Aten, Jerrod" reached the stool, Albus turned to him and held out his hand. "Good luck," he said. Scorpius noticed that his hand was quite sweaty.

"You too Al."

Albus smiled. "Sure, Scorp."

Scorpius frowned. "Don't call me that."

"Too late."

Neville Longbottom, clearing his throat, moved down to the next name. "Malfoy, Scorpius."

Waving to Al, he approached the stool carefully, placing the hat on his head. As he closed his eyes, the hat spoke in his mind. "Another Malfoy, eh? Glad your father was smart enough to send you back here. Now, let's see... loyalty to go around... smart, too... and what's this?"

He had soon delved into a memory. Scorpius felt nervous at first, but the hat reassured him. "Don't worry. Now then..."

It was the last clear memory of his mother. Laying on her bed, she looked pale as parchment, and seemed very sickly and green around the eyes. Still, she smiled at Scorpius, who, at the time, didn't fully understand what was happening. All he knew was that his mother was happy, and thus, he smiled back.

The hat retreated, and spoke softly. "I'm very sorry... Astoria was a kind girl, with many plans for the future. Now... I think I've seen everything. Before I decide, I can sense something in you. You want to be different. To restore your family's honor. Any preference?"

Scorpius thought back to what he had said to Rose. _What's wrong with breaking tradition?_

"No."

He imagined the hat smiling. "I thought so."

He opened his eyes as the hat's brim opened wide.

"Gryffindor!"

The hall sat silently in shock. Soon, someone began to clap. It was a boy with messy hair and brown eyes. The rest of the table soon followed, and applause filled the large room. Scorpius, smiling anxiously, made his way to the table, and sat at the end, with the same boy who had started the clapping patted his back. "Congrats. Now, let's see Al..."

Scorpius glanced up. It was James Potter.

He drowned out all noise, thinking about nothing until a familiar name was called.

"Potter, Albus!"

The hall went silent again, as his friends stepped up, placing the hat on his head. He sat that way for a while, until the hat's brim opened wide. James gripped the table, his knuckles white.

"Gryffindor!"

"YES!" he roared, and the table joined him as more money exchanged hands. James received two Galleons from a fellow third year, and stashed them in his robe

Albus sat down next to Scorpius, beaming. "That worked out well."

Soon enough, "Granger-Weasley, Rose" was called. Rose confidently walked up to the stool and screwed her eyes up in concentration.

Two minutes later, the had had its response.

"Slytherin!"

The end table looked too shocked to even respond. James and Albus both gaped at Rose, who walked to the table with her head held high, looking determined.x


	3. Chapter 2: What?

I own nada

Chapter 2: The Hidden Talent

The staff table all attempted to calm the pandemonium happening around them, to no avail. The Gryffindor and Slytherin tables yelled for a re-sort, enraged at the prospect of a Malfoy and Weasley switching houses. Neville managed to subdue the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs, but had no luck with the others. Albus and Scorpius covered their ears as James screamed at the top of his lungs, other students joining him.

McGonagall, casting a Sonorus charm, projected her voice. "Quiet!" she yelled. The two tables fell silent as the Headmistress continued. "Never have I seen such disgraceful behavior! All of you know full well that all decisions are final." She took a deep breath. "I expect no more of this hooliganism."

Some students hung their heads. James' remained up defiantly.

She moved on. "Now, to all you first years, welcome. I terribly apologize for the... uninviting actions of some older students. You are in Hogwarts, the greatest wizarding school in Britain!"

"Hear, hear!" shouted James, and the Gryffindors laughed.

"Now, we have some changes to announce for the coming year. Unfortunately, Professor Slughorn has chosen to retire from a long Potions career. We wish him well in his other endeavors. To fill this post, we have specialist Ryland Kyler, from Ilvermorny School of America."

The man stood up and waved his hand, to a polite smattering of applause. He seemed to be in his early twenties, quite young, with a mop of black hair.

"Professor Kyler will also assume the duties as Head of Slytherin House. As usual, the Forbidden Forest is out of bounds. Any students who enter will be punished to the full extent. For a full list of banned items, see Mrs. Grimm. Without further ado..." She waved her hands, and the most magnificent feast that the first years had ever seen appeared in front of their eyes.

Rose sat at the end of the table, along with two other girls named Nadia and Violet. The two seemed to have met on the train, and not discriminating against her Weasley nature, invited her to sit with them. They all eyed the table with interest, as if not sure where to start first. Rose piled mashed potatoes and steak and kidney pie onto her plate, and the girls began to eat fervently, due to the cold nature of the lake. The warm food soothed Rose's exhausted muscles, tired from physical exertion and stress.

As they ate, Nadia was the first to speak. "Notice how the other ones are avoiding us?"

She was indeed correct, as the older students sat several seats over, as if their group carried a disease.

Violet shrugged. The girl had a shock of blue hair draped over one of her eyes, and silver crescent earrings. "I'm not one to talk, anyways."

"Quiet isn't bad. Better than obnoxious or loud," said Rose. "I would know. Both of my cousins are an absolute disgrace to the male gender." She eyed Albus three tables over, who was chatting animatedly with that other boy, Scorpius.

Nadia sighed sympathetically. "At least you had it better than your aunt, Ginny."

Rose blinked as Violet piled more green beans onto her plate. "How do you know so much about her?"

Nadia showed a badge on the inside of her robes. "Proud Holyhead Harpies fan. I don't even want to know how bad you dad's posters clashed with his hair."

She laughed. "He still has those posters in his and Mum's room."

Violet shivered. "Some fashion statement."

For a good amount of time, they talked about their dysfunctional families and their quirks, even as Violet put her third treacle tart onto her plate.

"You would get along fine with my uncle," Rose said, commenting on her dessert choice.

"Which one? You have, like, fifteen."

Soon, the Head Boy, who had the same pompous demeanor that Uncle Percy had reportedly prided himself on, led his house away from the Great Hall. He spoke in a loud voice as the walked down the stairs toward the dungeons. "Good thing you don't have to deal with the moving staicases on the upper floors," he said. "You know, those stair have existed since Hogwarts was created..."

His female counterpart, a laid back girl named Meghan, simply shook her head.

After saying the password to the Common Room (Vigilance!), Meghan pointed the other girls to their dormitories. "First years on the first left." She continued to rattle off names, but the three newly acquainted friends left, turning to the left and heading down a narrow corridor.

Their room was small yet cosy, with four poster beds lining the two walls. Bed stands and walking space was in the middle, with a desk and a large black rectangle resting against the back wall. Curiously, there were only beds for the three of them. Violet immediately placed her bag on the lone bed on the left hand side, where her trunk was already situated. As the girls dressed into their pyjamas, Nadia began to speak.

"So, it's just the dirty threesome, huh?"

Violet, already in bed, waved a hand in her general direction, signaling that it was time for bed.

Nadia sighed and turned to Rose. "What about you?"

She pointed at the device. "I'm checking out that thing." She sat down at the desk, Nadia looking over her shoulder.

The top portion seemed to flip upwards. As Rose did so, the screen lit up, showing three letters in blue before a blank white background. "WWW..."

Nadia gasped. "Oh, I've heard of this! It's this system called the Wizarding Wide Web. Apparently, you just type a name in this box that appears, write a message, and it'll appear on the device of the person you sent it to. My dad said that Muggles use this for communication."

Different words flashed on the screen, asking for her name. She typed using the keyboard attatched to the bottom portion: "Rose Granger-Weasley". The screen asked for a nickname, with no spaces. Rose, snickering, typed "DaughterOfClumsy". A large menu then popped up, with options like "Compose," "Trash", and "Sent".

Nadia guided Rose to the "Compose" button, which she clicked with a pad below the keyboard. A box showed up next. A rectangle at the top said, "To". Rose wrote, "Albus Potter". His name appeared next to his nickname: "VoldysGoneMoldy". She sent him a simple message asking how Gryffindor was faring, and pressed send. The screen the went back to the original menu.

She high-fived Nadia, who then crawled into her bed, drawing the curtains.

Rose, humming slightly, whispered "Lumos!". A light shone at the end of her wand. Pulling a book out of her trunk, Rose began to read as Nadia snored.

A voice interrupted the silence. "Why did you choose here?" Violet asked.

"To be different."

She paused. "I can respect that." She then ceased, indicating that she was trying to fall asleep again.

Rose, happy to be in a bed, closed her book and extinguished her wand, laying on her side and mulling over the day's events. As sleep entered her mind, the book titled "Tales of Beedle the Bard" fell out of her hand and onto the floor.

* * *

Albus was shaken awake by a Scorpius who was biting his fingernails. " _You idiot!"_ he hissed, pointing at his alarm clock. It read 8:15. Albus had to be in class in 15 minutes. Leaping out of bed, he told Scorpius not to be late like him. He nodded gratefully, and hurried downstairs, exiting the dorm. Albus rushed to get ready, accidentally putting his sock on his arm. Barely glancing at his schedule detailing his first period, he rushed down and practically ran to Transfiguration, making it inside, out of breath, just as the bell rang. The Gryffindor and Slytherin first years sat in their chairs silently, as their Professor, an elderly lady named Ophelia Banks, glared at him.

"And why do you happen to be so out of air, young man?"

Albus, trying to gain his breath, managed to get out a sentence. "Woke up... too late." The class snickered.

She seemed to stare into his soul. "Sit down. And take that sock off of your arm."

He did so, ignoring the silly glares from the students. There was only one seat left at the back of the class. Albus sat there, not paying attention to his surroundings.

Professor Banks cleared her throat. "Transfiguraton. 'Tis a vital subject to learn in virtually any career path. Whether you with to become an Auror, or even a teacher of a completely different class, you must pass, at the least, the OWL level of this class. As you know, OWLs take place in fifth year, which may seem far away for you younglings. However, I expect nothing other than perfection and focus in my class. You are all completely capable of doing so. Now, split up into groups of four, with two students from each house."

The students begrudgingly obliged. A girl tapped Albus on the shoulder, and Albus turned to fnd himself face to face with Rose, who smiled tentatively. "Hi," she said.

"Hey to you too."

"Did you get my message?"

Albus nodded no. "Was kind of in a rush this morning."

She giggled. "I think that's putting it lightly."

Scorpius walked over to the pair of them, shaking hands with Rose in greeting.

As the boys talked mindlessly, Rose brought over another girl. "Guys, this is Violet."

Violet, who had a mop of blue hair, waved sarcastically, as Banks called for silence. "These groups will be your "study buddies" for the rest of the year."

Some students groaned at their misfortune in partners.

The rest of the period was spent copying definitions, and by the time class was dismissed, the disgruntled first years needed to write twelve feet of parchment on the difference between certain charms and transfigurations.

"Well, crap," said Scorpius as they exited. "I didn't sign up for this."

Rose snorted. "You didn't sign up at all, you dimwit."

"I really didn't, did I?"

The two walked at a faster pace as they conversed. Albus turned to his right. "So--"

The girl he was expecting to be there had disappeared in the mob of students, the bobbing dot of blue hair the only way he could make her out.

He turned forward to try and find his friends, but was pushed backwards by a group of sixth years talking animatedly. He sighed. "Great."


End file.
